U.S. commandos tried to rescue Foley and other hostages

A U.S. special operations team tried and failed to rescue journalist James Foley and other Americans held hostage in Syria during a secret mission earlier this summer authorized by President Obama, senior administration officials said Wednesday.

A day after Sunni militants posted a video showing Foley being beheaded, officials described what they called a “complicated operation” in which several dozen commandos were dropped into a remote area of Syria where U.S. intelligence agencies believed several hostages were being held.

But the special operations forces did not find them at that location and engaged in a firefight with Islamic State militants before departing, killing several militants. No Americans died but one sustained a minor injury when an aircraft was hit.

All of the team members were evacuated successfully.

“It was not ultimately successful because the hostages were not present at the location of the operation,” a senior administration official said about the mission. “We obviously wish this had been successful.”

Officials declined to say exactly when the mission took place, saying only that it happened earlier this summer. They also would not provide the location of the mission, but noted that if it had taken place in or near a heavily populated area, it would likely to have been noticed before now.

“The U.S. government had what we believed was sufficient intelligence, and when the opportunity presented itself, the president authorized the Department of Defense to move aggressively to recover our citizens,” said Lisa Monaco, Obama’s top counterterrorism adviser, in a statement. “Unfortunately, that mission was ultimately not successful because the hostages were not present.”

Despite the militants’ threats, the U.S. launched a new barrage of airstrikes against Islamic State targets in Syria on Wednesday. The Obama administration did not rule out the prospect of a military operation in Syria to bring those responsible for Foley’s death to justice.

The disclosure of the rescue mission marks the first time the U.S. has revealed that American military personnel have been on the ground in Syria since a bloody civil war there broke out more than three years ago. Obama has resisted calls to insert the U.S. military in the middle of Syria’s war, a cautious approach his critics say has allowed the Islamic State to strengthen there and make gains across the border in Iraq.

“As we have said repeatedly, the United States government is committed to the safety and well-being of its citizens, particularly those suffering in captivity. In this case, we put the best of the United States military in harms’ way to try and bring our citizens home,” Pentagon spokesman Rear Adm. John Kirby said in a statement Wednesday night. “The United States government uses the full breadth of our military, intelligence and diplomatic capabilities to bring people home whenever we can. The United States will not tolerate the abduction of our people, and will work tirelessly to secure the safety of our citizens and to hold their captors accountable.”

It’s unclear how many Americans the special forces attempted to rescue in Syria. While the officials who described the mission would not provide an exact number, other U.S. officials, who were not authorized to speak publicly, have said Foley was one of at least four Americans held in Syria.

This story was originally published August 20, 2014 at 6:53 PM with the headline "U.S. commandos tried to rescue Foley and other hostages."